If Another World Existed
by tenornotes
Summary: Two years after CoS, Ed meets someone who causes him to realize attending University may not be so bad after all. But, of course, the blooming seed of romance doesn't grow with ease. Alter!Roy/Ed. In-progress.


_Notes: It's post-Conqueror of Shamballa and nothing is really different from the canon plot (except for all the searching for Uranium bomb stuff, which you can ignore in this story). It's a love story! Aiming for three chapters! This is my first, but don't hold back! I'd simply love constructive criticism, comments, feedback, whatever you have to give! Please let me know about any blatant or distracting grammatical errors I may have missed (it's late and my brain is tired, haha)!_

_P.S.: I promise the rest of the chapters will feature more of the romance-y stuff! I had to set everything up in this one. :-)_

_P.P.S.: This was inspired by a beautiful drawing I found online which can be seen at __tenornotes**.**tumblr**.**_com/post/40309722095/anotherworld. Please let me know if you can identify the artist. I'm currently on a hunt, as I'd like to give them proper thanks and credit for the inspiration :-)  


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**If Another World Existed**

_Chapter One: "That damn bastard"_

Ed rolled out of bed. Literally.

He hit the solid floor with such force, it was a shock his automail didn't disconnect with the impact. Rubbing his right side with his flesh hand, he grudgingly glanced up. Warmth and light poured in through his window, as though someone were relieving an never-ending pitcher of sunrays into his room. Despite the morning being a natural, regularly-occurring phenomenon, Ed was could not help but be particularly peeved at its audacity. But not even that could compare to his frustration with the clock currently blaring from the desk beside his bed.

Blinking hard against the light, Edward turned away from the window until he met face-to-face with the one responsible for his unpleasant waking experience. Slamming his automail hand hard over the clock, the device smashed to tiny bits beneath his fury.

_Oops, a little too hard_, he thought. Al wouldn't be pleased. He had just gotten Ed the damn thing.

Pushing himself to his feet, he slumped over to the bathroom door. He probably didn't have time for a shower, but he was going to take one anyone. A nice, warm one. Today was going to be a long day.

Fifteen minutes after entering the bathroom, Ed emerged in a haze of steam, drying his hair with a towel. He heaved a sighed. Where had the days gone when drying his hair consisted of a clap, the crackle of a reaction, and the wisp of steam evaporating into air? He shrugged sullenly. They weren't here. They weren't now. That he knew.

There were three meaningful thuds on his door as Al's bright voice slipped into his room. "Brother, I hope you're up! Today's a big day!"

Ed scowled, pulling his long gold tresses into a ponytail, "Trust me, I know, Al. How much time do we have anyway?"

"Check your clock, Brother! Why do you think I got it for you?"

Ed glanced over to the shattered mess of metal and glass and his grimace sunk lower. _Yeah, Al's going to kill me when he finds out._

"But you've got another 15, so hurry up and get some food before we head off! We don't want to be late."

"Yeah, Al." Ed fished an outfit out of the closet. "Never that…"

After squirming into his clothes (he'd never grow used to the tedious fabric they called fashion here), he grabbed his bag from under his bed and headed for the door.

"What's cooking?" Ed asked as his nose caught wind of the breakfasty aroma wafting about the front room.

Ed and Al's apartment was modest. Small. Simple. Just the way Ed liked it; they didn't need anything too fancy. There were the two bedrooms and the large front room, which was essentially the living, dining, and kitchen quarters all-in-one. The furniture consisted of a small TV, a couch, a table to eat at, two bookshelves, and a couple other spare items the brothers picked up along their journeys. Aside from these things, there wasn't too much else to the flat. The Elric brothers didn't need much. Never did. This place had been one of the few permanent settlements they had allowed themselves in quite some time. It was home, a word which still spoke awkwardly on the tip of Edward's tongue.

"Your favorite: pancakes and eggs. The plates on the table, lazy bones." Al said, pulling off an apron (_Where the hell did that apron come from?_) and taking a seat opposite his brother.

"Thanks," Ed smiled faintly. Where would he be without Al's cooking? Where would he be without Al?

Cooking was an indulgence for Alphonse. After all those years he'd spent as a soul bonded to a suit of armor, bare of all sense besides his sight and ability to think, Al was still relishing in his ability to truly immerse himself in sights, and sounds, and smells, and tastes, and touch. Cooking was the perfect activity to stimulate his five senses daily. Ed thought cooking had to be some form of relief for his brother. Something that reassured him every day that his senses were still as fully functioning as he remembered. By no means did Ed think Al's body-less struggle had been easy, but he could not help but envy what his brother had gained in return: an optimistic, almost juvenile appreciation of what was mundane and so undervalued by the rest of the world. A complete euphoric elation about the simple notion of being.

Ed flopped into the chair and attacked his plate, going first for the eggs.

"Brother, are you excited? It's our first day!" Al practically sang at him.

"Uh." Ed thought for a moment. _It might not be so bad, right? _"Er, yeah I suppose so."

Al gave a half-frown. "Come on brother! This is what we've been waiting for! Why we moved to America! We're in!"—Al's hand were dramatically flailing in the air by now.—"All expenses paid for and everything! You're the one who says that even if we stop everything else we've been doing, the one thing we can't let go of is our pursuit of knowledge!"

Ed mouthed the last part of his brother's speech. Not just because the words had originated in his mouth, but because he'd gotten so used to hearing Al throw them in his face the last couple days. Al gave him a stern look, to which Ed could not help but let out his first laugh of the day. Al always reminded him of Mom when he made that face.

"Hate to say it, but you're right, Al." And Al was. It was the best option for the brothers. What else did they have planned? And more importantly, his little brother wanted it, so Ed had to agree, no matter how reluctant.

Though initially startled by his brother's unusually outright admission, Al flashed Ed a golden smile before taking a sip from his coffee mug.

Once Ed finished his food, they grabbed their things and made their way out, descending several flights of stairs until they emerged onto the busy square. The sun hung high in the sky, enveloping the earth with warmth and radiant light. Ed took a deep pull of the musty city air through his nostrils. The air rang with a balminess that implied summer was not quite ready to wither into autumn. The city's voice was a cacophony of sound. From the people standing around chatting, to the feet and wheels on cobble, to the birds chirping from their perches, each sound fought hard to be heard. Taking in the entirety of the street, Ed nodded to himself before falling in step with Al.

It was pretty nice in the big city, with its proud establishments, tireless people, and multitude of smells, sights, and sounds. Ed had been many places since he first began travelling all those years ago, but there was really only one city to which he could really liken this place.

"Central." Al said, beaming. "Doesn't this place remind you of Central?"

Ed nodded and chuckled at the comment made by his brother, who had obviously been drinking in the city as well. "Yeah, it's almost freakish."

"Maybe it's Central's counterpart… on this side," Al suggested.

Ed was thankful Al voiced the idea before he had. He and Al knew there were two parallel worlds, segregated by the Gate of Truth. They knew the world they lived in now consisted of people who had the same faces as people back in their original world, but who ultimately did not have the same mind and soul. However, it had never before occurred to the Elric brothers that locations from back home might have counterparts here well. All things considered, Ed did not think it was an unreasonable supposition. Not after finding this damn American city that filled him with that same sense of regal superiority he always felt back in Central City. _Damn, nostalgia._

"There are people on this side with faces like people from ours, so I suppose why shouldn't cities have counterparts as well?" Ed shrugged. "Even if it's not exactly the same."

This city may have resembled Central more than the cities back in Europe, but it certainly wasn't a complete twin. Not the way Alfons Heiderich had been his brother's spitting image (save for their eye colors). This place did not have the same military presence as Central, but then again, Ed had heard of other places on this side of the Gate that vaguely reminded him of places from their world as well. He'd heard of a city in Italy that was built on water, reminding him vaguely of Aquroya. From description he could tell it wasn't exact, but it probably was similar enough. He wondered if a thief lived there who looked like Clara.

_Funny we'd end up in Central's twin_, he thought. "It must be fate," Ed said in a dreamy voice.

Al sniggered, having caught whiff of Ed's sarcasm. "Could be brother. After two years of travelling, we cross the ocean and end up in a city just like Central… It just might be..."

Ed sighed and rolled his eyes. Fate, smate. Ed did not have patience for such illogical, unscientific concepts as fate. He knew his brother probably didn't care too much for them either, but ever the optimist, Al was more sympathetic toward such ideas. Al would give them occasional consideration. Not Ed. Though he had to admit it was weird, them settling in Central's counterpart after all these years.

It had taken Ed a while to adjust to the decision, but he had to confess, it felt good to finally put a pause on the travelling for a while. Noah and the others would always joke that Ed and Al were lost to wanderlust just like them. But Ed and Al were on a mission. They were going to find a way to get back to their world. Their home. That was their plan, at least.

After two years of travelling, chasing myths, and studying with experts in various fields of science, they decided to allow their expenditure to come to a cadence. At least for a while. With the war going on, they decided it'd probably be better to get the heck out of Europe and settle down. After all, they were together (the best thing either brother could have asked for) and they wouldn't actually be sitting still. They'd be learning. They'd still be chasing knowledge, but in a way they had never before given much thought (at least, Ed hadn't): University.

Which, at the moment, is where they headed.

It was Al's idea. Ed was hesitant at first, but he eventually gave in, admitting that attending University would be better than settling down and doing nothing. And Edward was a sucker for knowledge, although he had always preferred independent study (meaning him, Al, and their books) to organized institutional learning. After all, it was through independent study that the two brothers had become the alchemical prodigies they were. They'd been. Ed didn't know what to expect. But Al, the Persistent Peter he was, did the research and found a University he claimed would be perfect for the two brothers' learning endeavors. Before Ed knew it, the two had been accepted into the school and were moving into an apartment several blocks down from it. Ed hoped he wouldn't regret it.

Obviously a mind reader, Alphonse turned his head slightly to Ed and said, "Brother, it's going to be amazing. Wait and see."

"I hope so."

"Just keep a positive attitude, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Mom."

The two brothers paused in their walk as they came to the immense stone archway leading into the University. Al had signed up both the brothers for classes, so Ed had yet to see the place. A path down a neatly manicured lawn led into the campus. Tall, white Neoclassical buildings stood proud and formidably. Young men and women were scattered about the place in their best casual suits and pretty sundresses. Ed tried to not be offended by the haughtiness of the place.

Holding up a piece of paper, Al began guiding Ed to the building which housed their first class. Ed glanced around as they strode, taking it all in.

_So, this is what college campuses are like. Geez, I can feel the pretention radiating off of these jerks._ Ed suppressed the thought as he passed a girl staring at a map, looking quite lost. _Positive, Edward, gotta be positive._

Almost walking into Al, Ed came to an abrupt halt behind his brother.

"Here we are!" Al announced enthusiastically, as though he were guiding a group of tourists. "Shermin Hall."

Ed glanced up at the immaculate stone façade of the building. It could have been a town hall or a mini-Pantheon with its tall and prestigious columns, triangle pediment, immense stairs, and other fancy white ornamentation. It looked rather like a piece of chalk that'd been carved to prim perfection.

"It looks like a Shermin," Ed muttered.

Al laughed and turned to face his brother, "It's meant to hold a hell of a lot of people. This is gonna be one of those enormous classes I told you about."

"Geez, that sounds wonderful," Ed said, letting his shoulders fall. He craned his head a little as he tried to peek into the enormous opening that led into the structure.

"Ed."

"Huh?" Ed turned to look into his brother's wide eyes.

"Try not to be short with anyon—OW!"

Ed returned fist to his side, satisfied with the shoulder blow. He growled, but he was sure Al hadn't heard it beneath his hearty chuckling.

Ed's reaction to comments about his height had drastically improved since he was young (he no longer tried to break down feet and stick them on heads), but he still didn't let suckers get away with it. Part of the reason for Ed's improved reaction was because he'd grown quite a bit since his days as the shortest State Alchemist in Amestris (though he was still several inches shorter than his younger brother and most regular-sized men). The other reason came from what Al called maturity. Another concept for which Ed held little regard.

"Guess we should head in, huh?" Ed supposed, noticing the lazy stream of student flowing into the building.

Rubbing his shoulder once more, Al nodded. "Yeah"

Together, they ascended the stairs leading into the building.

A split second before placing his foot on the last stair, Ed heard a bark. He glanced over his shoulder, out toward the green lawn that stretched out in front of the building. He couldn't see too well from his position at the top of the stairs, halfway entering the building, but he could make out a small black and white dog with a Frisbee in its mouth, running gaily over to a tall blonde girl in an impossibly white dress. Behind her, standing regal and upright was a boy, a young man really, with dark hair and a textbook tucked in his arm. He was obviously her boyfriend.

As Ed started to refocus his attention ahead of him, the boyfriend's head turned. Dark met light as their eyes suddenly met. Everything surrounding the boy faded away. In disbelief, Ed jammed his eyes shut for a half a second before thrusting them open again. He felt a fluttering in his chest. A churning in his stomach. It was…

_But it can't be..._

Ed did not have the best vision from a distance, but he'd know that proud mug anywhere.

_Mustang_.

"Ed, come on," called an obviously unaware Al.

And just like that the trance was lifted. Ed snapped around, heading for the opening.

Just as his foot crossed over the threshold, he chanced another glance over his shoulder. The boy was still facing in his direction from what Ed could tell, but his expression was completely obscure.

Ed whipped forward, unable to suppress the grin that crept across his face.

"Mustang," he breathed. "That damn bastard."

Ed instantly thought back to earlier, when he was hoping he wouldn't regret Al persuading him to go to University.

And then, suddenly, he realized he wouldn't.

**To be continued.**


End file.
